System and process for producing a composite article

ABSTRACT

According to one or more embodiments, a system includes a cutter for cutting a composite material to form composite pieces, an ultrasonic welding device for connecting two or more of the composite pieces to form a composite stack, and a compression molding device for forming a composite article from the composite stack. The system may further include a transfer arm for delivering the composite pieces to the ultrasonic welding device. The system may further include a forming device to generate a composite preform which is then delivered to the compression molding device. Excess material may be trimmed off before, during or after the forming step to deliver a net-shape for the subsequent molding step.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed inventive concept relates generally to system and methodfor producing a composite article.

BACKGROUND

In certain existing methods, relatively high tack pre-impregnated fibermaterials (or “prepreg materials”) are cut to two dimensional patternsusing a table cutting machine. Upon completion of the cutting process,the resultant prepreg plies are removed manually and stored formanufacture of composite parts. Some of the existing prepreg materialstend to contain carrier films on both sides to separate from each other.This is necessary as these relatively high tack prepreg plies tend tostick to each other and be rendered useless if not properly separated. Aproblem associated with this existing practice is carrier films must beremoved for subsequent processes and removal of carrier films can belabor intensive and cost inefficient.

It would thus be advantageous if system and method for producing acomposited article may be provided to solve one or more of theseidentified problems.

SUMMARY

The disclosed inventive concept is believed to have overcome one or moreof the problems associated with producing a composite article.

As will be detailed below, the present invention in one or moreembodiments is advantageous at least in that two dimensional prepregblank geometries can be cut from relatively low tack prepregs on a twodimensional cutting table. Due to the relatively low tack, the prepregmaterial can be readily separated from each other with or withoutcarrier films. The blanks can be robotically removed from the cuttingtable, optionally using vacuum pick and place technology. The blanks canthen be aligned and connected optionally via ultrasonic welding inpreparation for downstream forming and/or compression treatment.

According to one or more embodiments, a system includes a cutter forcutting a composite material such as the relatively low tack prepregs toform composite pieces, an ultrasonic welding device for connecting twoor more of the composite pieces to form a composite stack, and acompression molding device for forming a composite article from thecomposite stack. system may further include a transfer arm fordelivering the composite pieces to the ultrasonic welding device. Thesystem may further include a forming device to generate a compositepreform which is then delivered to the compression molding device. Thisis particular for the so called net-shape molding where the compositeperform is produced by heat assisted forming and trimming to removeunnecessary excess materials, and the composite perform is then readyfor molding where no trimming is necessary any more with the molding.The system may further include a trimmer to trim excess materials fromthe composite preform to generate a trimmed composite preform which isthen delivered to the compression molding device.

According to one or more other embodiments, a method producing acomposite article includes subjecting a composite material such as therelatively low tack prepregs to a cutter to form composite pieces,subjecting two or more the composite pieces to an ultrasonic weldingdevice for connecting two or more of the composite pieces to form acomposite stack, and subjecting the composite stack to a compressionmolding device to form a composite article from the composite stack.

The above advantages and other advantages and features will be readilyapparent from the following detailed description of embodiments whentaken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of embodiments of this invention,reference should now be made to the embodiments illustrated in greaterdetail in the accompanying drawings and described below by way ofexamples wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a system for forming a composite article according to oneor more embodiments; and

FIG. 2 depicts a non-limiting process for forming the composite articlereferenced in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE OR MORE EMBODIMENTS

As referenced in the FIG.s, the same reference numerals are used torefer to the same components. In the following description, variousoperating parameters and components are described for differentconstructed embodiments. These specific parameters and components areincluded as examples and are not meant to be limiting.

According to one or more embodiments, and as depicted in FIG. 1 in viewof FIG. 2, a system generally shown at 100 includes a cutter 102 forcutting a composite material 112 shown at step 202 to form compositepieces 114, an ultrasonic welding device 104 for connecting two or moreof the composite pieces 114 shown at step 204 to form a composite stack130, and a compression molding device 106 for forming a compositearticle from the composite stack 130 shown at step 208. A forming step206 may be included to provide a net shaped perform via forming andtrimming. In addition, and as detailed herein elsewhere, step 203 may beincluded to provide ply layup in which the two or more composite pieces114 may be aligned, optionally via a robot, for step 204.

The composite stack 130 may be provided with one or more of weldingareas 132 where a horn 126 of the ultrasonic welding device 104 contactsthe composite stack 130. By such a contact, the ultrasonic energy istransferred onto the composite stack 130 to effect the welding. Thewelding areas 132 may vary in location and/or number. The welding areas132 may take any suitable shapes, including spots, lines and/or bars.The two or more composite pieces 114 underlining the composite stack 130are connected via the welding areas 132. The welding areas 132 helpmaintain alignment of individual composite pieces 114 and function tohold them together to facilitate the downstream forming and compressionsteps.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the system 100 may further include a transferarm 118 for delivering the composite pieces 114 to the ultrasonicwelding device 104. The transfer arm 118 may be actuated by a robot 116and in some instances, may be part of the robot 116. The transfer arm118 may include a receiving end 120 coupled with a number of vacuum cups(not shown) for picking up and dropping off the composite pieces 114.Accordingly the composite pieces 114 may be aligned back-to-back via theuse of the robot 116 and the transfer arm 118. The receiving end 120 maybe of any suitable shape and be made of any suitable material. Incertain instances, the receiving end 120 may be of a generally flatsurface with the vacuum cups positioned thereupon.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the ultrasonic welding device 104 may includea platform 122 for receiving the composite pieces 114. The platform 122may be built as part of the ultrasonic welding device 104 or may bepositioned separable and detachable to the ultrasonic welding device104. The platform 122 may include another number of vacuum cups (notshown) to receive and stabilize the composite pieces 114 placedthereupon. One or more stabilizing arms 124 may also be provided toassist with the positioning and stabilization of the composite pieces114. The stabilizing arms 124 may be part of the ultrasonic weldingdevice 104 and/or part of the platform 122.

When a third composite piece 114 is placed onto the first two that havebeen welded, the horn 126 descends and welds the third composite pieceto the second composite sheet 114. Dependent upon the ultrasonic energytransferred, the welding bonds between the third and second pieces maynot necessarily be confined within the second and/or third sheet, andtherefore may go into the first piece. In addition, the horn 126 may berepositioned such that the welding lines/spots between the first and thesecond, and the welding lines/spots between the second and the third maybe different. This is particularly useful when the composite pieces 114may be of different shapes among themselves.

The horn 126 may be designed to resonate at the frequency of theultrasonic system. Therefore the ultrasonic energy as imparted from thehorn 126 may be varied by adjusting the resonance frequency of theultrasonic system.

The ultrasonic welding imparts local “stitching” to one or more of thecomposite sheets 114. Without wanting to be limited to any particulartheory, it is believed that ultrasonic welding works to reduce viscosityof the composite pieces 114 locally and renders these locations of thecomposite pieces 114 tackier. Ultrasonic vibrational energy causes thematerial to soften and flow in a fraction of a second. When the materialis pressed together and resolidifies, the bond is made. No glues orsolvents are needed. Heating is confined to the interface area so theassembled part is not too hot to handle. The energy and/or temperatureas imparted by the ultrasonic welding should be low enough so as not toimpair any downstream steps including, for instance, forming at step 206and compression at step 208. If too much energy is delivered prior toforming, the composite pieces 114 may become rigid at these high energyimparted locations. These high energy imparted locations may render thecomposite pieces 114 not flexible enough to conform to certain desirableshapes at or near those high energy imparted locations.

The ultrasonic welding at step 204 may be plunge welding. In plungewelding, the composite pieces 114 are placed under the horn 126; thehorn 126 descends to the composite pieces 114 under moderate pressureand the weld cycle is initiated.

As discussed herein elsewhere, any two composite pieces 114 may beplaced on the platform 122 prior to ultrasonic welding. In general, noadditional force is required to compress the composite pieces 114. Thisis at least because the composite pieces 114 should not fit too tightlyas over-tight joining may inhibit the vibration needed to inducewelding.

The composite material 112 may be thermoplastic or thermoset. Undercertain instances, the thermoplastics tend to be less tacky thanthermoset materials. When being thermoset, the composite material 112can behave like thermoplastic under room temperatures so as to beresponsive to ultrasonic welding. A non-limiting method to accomplishthis may be via increasing the uncured material temperature above thecorresponding glass transition temperature such that viscosity may bereduced and the matrix is allowed to flow under the heat with thereduced viscosity.

Although the method described herein may be adapted to be used forcomposite material of relatively high tackiness under limitedcircumstances, the method described herein is particularly suitable forcomposite material 112 that is of relatively low tackiness. When tootacky, the composite pieces 114 would stick to each other and becomealmost inseparable. Unacceptable tackiness will make the piece-by-piecetransfer for the ultrasonic welding accordingly almost impossible.

Thermoplastics can be further categorized as amorphous or crystalline.Amorphous resins exhibit random and do not greatly dampen energyintroduced into the material. As heat is applied, they soften and do nothave a sharply defined melting temperature. Amorphous resins includeABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, polystyrene and polysulfone. Crystallineresins have an orderly pattern, like coiled springs. Just as metalsprings dampen vibration, so do crystalline materials. They also have awell-defined melting temperature. Crystalline materials include acetal,nylon, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyphenylene sulfide.Alloys/blends are combinations of amorphous and/or crystalline polymersand the combinations seem endless.

In certain instances, the composite material 112 may be a materialotherwise termed “pre-preg.” As mentioned herein elsewhere, pre-preg isa term for “pre-impregnated” composite material where a resin isincluded to bond a matrix material together. The resin may or may not bepartially cured to allow easy handling.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the cutter 102 may be positioned in connectionto a cutting table 108. During a cutting operation, the cutter 102 maybe moved in one or more desirable directions via the support frame 110to deliver the cutting.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the composite material 112 may be provided asa roll wound about a roller 134. The composite material 112 mayoptionally be separated from each other via one or two carrier films(not shown). In the event the carrier film is used, the carrier film maybe retained and prevented from going onto the cutting table 108 via asecond roller 136 or alternatively a stop. The second roller 136 or thestop rolls to pull the carrier film away from the composite material112.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the system 100 may further include a formingdevice 128 to generate a composite preform which is then delivered tothe compression molding device 106. Forming at step 206 may be anecessary step prior to the compression/curing step 208. To assist withthe forming, the ultrasonically welded pieces 114 may be pre-heated. Thepre-heating step may also help maintain the shape following the formingstep.

During forming and trimming, ultrasonically welded pieces 114 are formedusing male/female shape tooling to obtain the ultimate product shape.Excess edging materials are trimmed off according to step 206. Theforming does not necessarily reduce the total thickness of the compositepieces 114. But the trimming may be necessary as the cavity of thecompression mold 106 is often particularly sized. The excess materialwould not make the sheets fitting well within the mold cavity.

Formed part coming out of step 206 may deform over time as they are notcured. The final compression and curing may occur at step 208 underelevated pressure and/or temperature.

As described herein elsewhere, the composite material 112 is ofrelatively low tack. The relatively low tackiness of the compositematerial may be realized using any suitable methods. A non-limitingexample of such methods includes selecting a source resin with atemperature glass transition temperature to be near or above ambienttemperature. Another non-limiting example of such methods includesselecting a source resin which is a combination of solid and liquidresins for forming the composite material.

For certain existing systems and processes, relatively high tackinesswould be helpful during a manual layup, wherein the tack allows thepieces to stick together and maintain position for subsequent manuallayup of plies. Therefore the present invention in one or moreembodiments presents a departure from some of the existing practicesfavoring the use of resin materials of relatively high tack. As detailedherein elsewhere, the use of relatively low tack materials effectuatesthe employment of robotic handling instead of manual handling, whichfurther effectuates the employment of ultrasonic welding to impartlocalized welding connections. Exposing someone near an ultrasonicoperation such as the ultrasonic welding device 104 may not be thatpractice for health consciousness reasons; the use of relatively lesstacky materials coupled with robotic handling reduces or eliminates suchhealth risk to an operator as he or she can be positioned remotely fromthe ultrasonic source during operation.

The composite material 112 may come in rolls, optionally separated withone sheet of packaging film such as paper. When provided as a sheet, thecomposite material 112 may be conveyed underneath the cutter 102 and cutinto sizes of predetermined shapes. Because of the relatively lowtackiness, the composite pieces 114 as cut are not unacceptably tacky oneither side and may be stacked onto each other along a thicknessdirection.

The term “composite” or “composite material” may refer to materials madefrom two or more constituent components with different physical orchemical, that when combined, produce a material with characteristicsdifferent from the individual components. The individual componentsoften remain separate and distinct within the finished structure. Thenew material may be preferred for many reasons: common examples includematerials which are stronger, lighter or less expensive when compared totraditional materials.

In one or more embodiments, the disclosed invention as set forth hereinovercomes the challenges faced by known production of compositearticles. However, one skilled in the art will readily recognize fromsuch discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims thatvarious changes, modifications and variations can be made thereinwithout departing from the true spirit and fair scope of the inventionas defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a cutter for cutting acomposite material to form composite pieces; an ultrasonic weldingdevice for connecting two or more of the composite pieces to form acomposite stack; and a compression molding device for forming acomposite article from the composite stack.
 2. The system of claim 1,further comprising a transfer arm for delivering the composite pieces tothe ultrasonic welding device.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein thetransfer arm has a receiving end with a number of vacuum cups.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic welding device includes aplatform to receive the two or more of the composite pieces.
 5. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein the platform includes a receiving surfacewith a number of vacuum cups.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein theplatform includes one or more stabilizing arms to stabilize one or morethe composite pieces as present on the platform.
 7. The system of claim1, further includes one or more stops to separate the composite materialfrom a carrier film prior to entry of composite material to the cutter.8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a forming device togenerate a composite preform which is then delivered to the compressionmolding device.
 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a trimmerto trim excess materials from the composite preform to generate atrimmed composite preform which is then delivered to the compressionmolding device.
 10. A system comprising: a cutter for cutting acomposite material to form composite pieces; a transfer arm fordelivering the composite pieces to the ultrasonic welding device anultrasonic welding device for connecting two or more of the compositepieces to form a composite stack, the ultrasonic welding deviceincluding a platform to receive the two or more of the composite pieces;and a compression molding device for forming a composite article fromthe composite stack.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the detachableplatform includes one or more stabilizing arms to stabilize one or morethe composite pieces as present on the platform.
 12. The system of claim10, further includes one or more stops to separate the compositematerial from a carrier film prior to entry of composite material to thecutter.
 13. The system of claim 10, further comprising a forming deviceto generate a composite preform which is then delivered to thecompression molding device.
 14. The system of claim 10, furthercomprising a trimmer to trim excess materials from the composite preformto generate a trimmed composite preform which is then delivered to thecompression molding device.
 15. A method of producing a compositearticle, comprising: subjecting a composite material to a cutter to formcomposite pieces; subjecting two or more the composite pieces to anultrasonic welding device for connecting two or more of the compositepieces to form a composite stack; and subjecting the composite stack toa compression molding device to form a composite article from thecomposite stack.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprisingdelivering the composite pieces to the ultrasonic welding device via atransfer arm.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising stabilizingone or more of the composite pieces prior to activating weldingoperation by the ultrasonic welding device.
 18. The method of claim 15,further comprising separating the composite material from a carrier filmprior to entry of composite material to the cutter.
 19. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising generating a composite preform from thecomposite stack via a forming device.
 20. The method of claim 19,further comprising trimming excess materials from the composite preformvia a trimmer to generate a trimmed composite preform which is thendelivered to the compression molding device.